An Orland Park big box store played a starring role in today’s episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” when the daytime talk show surprised a Chicago mother and daughter with a shopping spree at the town’s Best Buy on Thanksgiving.

A segment filmed at the store near LaGrange Road and 159th Street Thursday night features a crowd of area DeGeneres fans. who lined up outside hoping for a glimpse of the host. The occasional Orland Park police vehicle also made it into the background of a few shots.

Tweets from DeGeneres leading up to the holiday told fans in the southwest suburbs to be at the store in Orland Park at 9 p.m. Thursday for a big surprise and a chance to win gift cards.

The messages helped attract a crowd of more than 2,000 people that flooded the parking lot ahead of Best Buy’s midnight Black Friday opening, said Orland Park Police Cmdr. Tom Kenealy.

Many showed up hoping to see the host herself, but when word got out she wasn’t coming, “the crowd significantly dispersed,” he said.

A crew from her show was there on her behalf to surprise a Chicago family with a $25,000 shopping spree. They also handed out $35,000 in gift cards to fans standing outside, said Melissa Little Padgitt, senior publicist with the show.

The segment that aired today featured Julia Hawkins, 61, and her daughter, Sonya Hawkins, 34, she said. The Chicago residents, who are big fans of DeGeneres, came to the Orland Park Best Buy expecting to play a game organized by the show.

Today’s episode shows the two watching an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” inside Best Buy when it is interrupted by a specially-recorded message from DeGeneres for the two women, explaining that they had the whole store to themselves for a special shopping spree.

The two were chosen after Julia Hawkins wrote to the show on behalf of her daughter, explaining she is a giving person who always goes out of her way to help others despite her own hardships.

“I got an email from you, Julia, about how wonderful your daughter Sonya is,” DeGeneres said in the segment. “From what I hear, I think she learned it from you.”

Without many specifics, DeGeneres explained that the pair support their friends and neighbors when they’re in need, and they deserved to have that giving spirit come full circle. Julia Hawkins is a retired teacher and Sonya Hawkins is currently going back to school to earn a master’s degree from the Keller Graduate School of Management at DeVry University, according to Little Padgitt.

“Since you’re both so giving to others, we want to reward you,” DeGeneres said.

The two women, along with Sonya’s three-year-old daughter, then raced around the store filling shopping carts decorated with cutouts of DeGeneres’ face. The two were then flown to California to meet DeGeneres on Monday where she surprised them again with a check for $25,000 from Best Buy. The women could not immediately be reached for comment.